And then some. It is likely one of the finest motion pictures made
in modern times, if not one of the finest ever. Mel Gibson, often a
self-effacing broadly comedic actor (even in such serious fare as
Braveheart and Ron Howard's Ransom, will likely be remembered more
for his Lethal Weapon antics than for his brilliance behind the
camera. It's just the way our pop psyche works. The fact that Gibson
is one of the greatest directors of our time will be overshadowed by
car chase antics with Joe Pesci, antics that, had they not existed,
would probably have earned Gibson a little more benefit of the doubt
with his masterpiece The Passion of The Christ. Gibson makes a good
target because of his pop favorite stature and his devotion to
Traditionalism, a fringe Catholic faith that rejects the Vatican II
reforms of 1962-65 and, as a result, does not recognize the current
Pope. And, while the truth is anyone making a Passion Play invites
both praise and contempt, Gibson's edgy, nutty eccentricity fairly
demands both.

Without all of the hype and accusations of
anti-Semitism,The Passion of The Christ might
have been Gibson's small master-piece. A beautiful and personal art
film that may have quietly come and gone had any other director's
name been in the opening credits. A shorter and, believe it or not,
somewhat less violent Braveheart— a little too short for my taste.
The Passion seemed trimmed to a neat two hours perhaps out of
concern that, had things gone the other way, had the film been
rejected by the audience, theatres might be stuck with a three-hour
albatross rather than a very trim, very neat, very well-paced two
hours. In that two hours, things move along at an unexpectedly brisk
pace,
but Gibson may have made this a bit too lean.

I would have liked the extra hour for a more expanded view of
Christ's ministry, and to understand why He was such a threat to the
religious leaders of the day. Gibson takes absolutely for granted
that his audience will understand the very complex motives of the
religious leaders of the day, and skips any examination of why they
do what they do. As a result, the religious leaders are reduced to
single-note mustache-twirling villains, with precious few glimpses
of division among them over the inevitable fate of the heretic
Jesus. Normally, this would just be a matter of poor choice or poor
writing, had these particular religious leaders not been Jewish.